Toast
by Lil-Samuu
Summary: A short story about a quiet night spent in an inn.


This is just a short piece of sillyness, inspired by combining two random things I was talking about with a friend. Lloyd and Colette sitting by a fire and toast, which I was eating at the time, just seemed to go together so nicely :)

No major spoilers. It's not set in any particular time in the game, although the fact that Raine makes the comment along the lines of men are useless is referred to.

I do not own Tales of Symphonia, it belongs to Namco I believe. I just wanted to share what I hope is a cute story.

* * *

Despite the fact that the weather outside was as miserable as could be the atmosphere inside the living room of the inn was peaceful.

Raine looked up from the notes she was studying as she heard Lloyd yawn and stretch in the chair by the fire. He and Colette had curled up in it together and dozed off after dinner.

"If you're tired you should go to bed," the half-elf said, turning back to her papers.

"Mmmm," Lloyd mumbled, deciding that he didn't really want to go to bed just yet, in fact he was actually a little hungry. Colette shifted a bit as she began to wake up, and he heard her tummy growl a little. He smiled, his mind made up. He moved out of the chair, and made sure that Colette was settled comfortably again before reassuring the sleepy girl he'd be right back.

"What's he up to now?" Genis looked up from his book with a puzzled and slightly worried look on his face.

His question was soon answered when Lloyd returned from the kitchen with a large loaf of sliced bread, butter, some plates, a knife and a couple of cloths. He placed it all down on the hearth and pulled up one of the footstools so he could sit next to the fire. Colette's eyes beamed happily as she figured out Lloyd's plan. Sheena giggled, also guessing what Lloyd was going to do. The boy grabbed the poker from the fireplace set and shifted the logs around a bit. Once he was happy with the flames he grabbed a damp cloth and wiped the poker, dried it with a different cloth and skewered a piece of bread on it.

Colette clapped her hands excitedly, and the noise attracted Raine's attention.

"LLOYD IRVING! What do you think you're doing?!" she yelled.

"Making toast" Lloyd smiled happily, keeping his attention focused on cooking the bread evenly.

"You can't do that!" Raine growled.

"I think he is," Genis rolled his eyes. Raine made an angry noise at the back of her throat but decided it was easier to let the boy get on with his cooking than to try to convince him to stop. He was a pain sometimes she thought as she turned back to her notes, trying to ignore the others.

Lloyd pulled the bread out of the fire, plonked it onto one of the plates, buttered it and offered it to Colette, who accepted it with a grin and a warm "thank you" before tucking into it was an expression of pure delight on her face.

A second slice of toast went to Colette, and then Lloyd offered Sheena a piece as she'd begun to look hungry after smelling the toast cooking.

"This is good," she smiled as she munched away. "I thought cooking toast over an open fire was difficult, how'd you learn to do it so well?" she asked. 

"Practice," Lloyd said, working on another slice. Sheena looked puzzled.

"Lloyd and I used to camp out in his back yard sometimes when we were little," Colette explained. "We used to build a campfire and Lloyd and I would cook stuff on it," she smiled at the happy memories.

"Mmmmmmm, melted marshmallows and chocolate on toast," Lloyd grinned. Genis pulled an 'oh yuck' face. Lloyd caught it and smiled.

"Don't knock it until you've tried it, s'good," he said nodding and passing Colette yet another gratefully accepted slice of toast. She'd certainly got a healthy appetite back after all that she'd gone through Lloyd thought. He was happy, it meant that she was getting back to normal, and he found it pleasing to cook for her.

Lloyd continued to cook and once he was happy that Colette and Sheena had eaten all they wanted he offered Genis a slice. The young boy debated whether to stick to not condoning Lloyd's actions by refusing or to give in to the smell of perfectly cooked and buttered toast. Less than ten seconds later he was getting crumbs everywhere in his haste to eat.

"Hey, I gave you a plate for a reason," Lloyd said. Genis just grinned.

Another slice later Lloyd asked Genis if he wanted to take some toast up to Presea. The small girl had gone to bed early and Genis was missing her company, even if she was a quiet person he liked her being around. Taking her a snack would be a great excuse to go and see her. He nodded enthusiastically and was soon making his way up the stairs with a plate laden with toast for himself and Presea to share.

Lloyd looked at how much bread he had left and decided he'd better make himself some before he ran out. When he got to the last few slices he had a sudden thought, and smiled to himself as he cooked them. When they were done he took the plate over to Raine.

"See professor, we're not all useless," he grinned, remembering an earlier comment she'd made. Raine pulled a 'we'll see' face, and waited for him to clear up the cooking things and settle back down in the chair with Colette before starting to nibble at the toast. Maybe it was a good idea to let him cook after all she thought as she realised how good it tasted.

Lloyd was falling asleep in the chair again, but one last thought entered his mind before he drifted off. He shared it sleepily with the others and giggled. "I wonder what Zelos'll say when he finds out there's no bread left for breakfast".


End file.
